For other people, see Naika.
Naïka
Backgroundperson
Birth nameVictoria Naika Richard[a]
Birth dateMarch 2, 1995 (age 31)
Birth placeMiami, Florida, U.S.
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2016–present
Label
PartnerSaint Levant (2023–2025)
Websitewww.naikaofficial.com

Victoria Naika Richard[1][a] (born March 2, 1995)[2][3][4] known professionally as Naïka, is an American-born French-Haitian singer and songwriter.

Early life and education

Naïka was born in Miami to a Haitian mother of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese origin[5] and French father who was raised in Madagascar.[6][7] Following him for his job, she spent her childhood across various countries and regions, namely Guadeloupe, Vanuatu, Nairobi, Paris and South Africa, before moving back to Miami when she was 16.[3][8][9][10][11] She developed her musical interests at an early age,[9][12][13] attending tamure classes during her time in Vanuatu[11] and receiving two years of classical piano training in South Africa.[9]

In 2015, Naïka placed second in the BMI John Lennon Foundation Scholarship competition.[4][10][14][15] She studied Performance as her major at Berklee College of Music in Boston,[10][13][16] being selected during her first year for a tour with Michael Bolton. She participated in the NBC casting show The Voice[14][15] and, during her 7th semester, she was selected to take part in a bootcamp class by songwriter Kara DioGuardi, which resulted in the song "Ride", which she would release after her debut single "Call Me Marilyn". Following her graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career.[9][15][17]

Career

Her 2016 rendition of the Haitian traditional song "Papa Gèdè (Bel Gason)" received 200,000 clicks within two days[13][14] and a total of over 1 million views. After the success of her 2017 debut single "Ride", which obtained 5 million Spotify streams – resulting in a second place on the platform's Global Viral chart – and charted in twelve countries, she signed a two-year contract with Capitol Records (a division of Universal Music).[10]

After releasing several singles between 2017 and 2019, she rose to prominence in early 2020, when a TikTok video of her version of "Don't Rush" garnered over 20 million views in three months, drawing the attention of the original artists Young T & Bugsey. In 2020 and 2021, respectively, she released the EPs Lost in Paradïse, Pt. 1 and Lost in Paradïse, Pt. 2, under the label AWAL.[10][18] In 2021, her song "Sauce" debuted in an Apple iPhone commercial during the Grammys telecast.[19] In April 2024, Naïka made an appearance during Saint Levant's performance at Coachella 2024, duetting to an unreleased song.[20] Her debut album, Eclesia, was released on February 20, 2026.[7]

Artistry

Naïka is a multilingual artist, singing in French, Haitian Creole, and English.[8][14][16] Her musical style, which she defines "world pop", is based on a mix of world music – blending European (particularly French), African, Caribbean and Afro-Caribbean music – with pop, soul and R&B.[3][8][9][12][14][18] She cites childhood influences from Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, Usher, the Black Eyed Peas,[9] Bob Marley, Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie[11] and Nameless,[citation needed] as well as classical composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.[9]

Personal life

Naïka lives and works in Los Angeles.[9] She identifies as a "third culture kid".[11]

In December 2023, she started a relationship with Palestinian rapper Saint Levant;[21][22][23] the couple announced their breakup via Instagram on September 25, 2025.[23][24]

Discography

Albums

  • Eclesia (2026)

EPs

  • Lost in Paradïse, Pt. 1 (2020)
  • Lost in Paradïse, Pt. 2 (2021)
  • Transitions EP (2022)

Singles

  • "Call Me Marilyn" (2017)
  • "Ride" (2017)
  • "Limbo" (2017)
  • "Serpentine" (2018)
  • "Oh Mama" (2018)
  • "Blame" (2018)
  • "Snowing in L.A." (2018)
  • "Deja Vu" (2019)
  • "Enchanté" (with SACHI; 2020)
  • "Head in the Clouds" ( TeaMarrr; 2020)
  • "Water" (2020)
  • "African Sun" (2020)
  • "Sauce" (2021)
  • "Belle, Belle!" (2021)
  • "Don't Lie" (2021)
  • "H2O" (2022)
  • "My Body, My Choice" (2022)
  • "Guava" (2023)
  • "Milkman" (2023)
  • "Messi" (with June Freedom; 2023)
  • "1+1 (Acoustic)" (2024)
  • "6:45 (Acoustic)" (2024)
  • "Messi (Sunset Mix)" (with June Freedom and Peace Control; 2024)
  • "Layers" (2025)
  • "Bloom" (2025)
  • "Blessings" (2025)
  • "Matador" (2025)
  • "One Track Mind" (2026)
  • "Welcome To Eclesia" (2026)
  • "One Track Mind Part II" (with Kalash) (2026)

Charted singles

List of charted singles, showing year released, chart positions and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
FRA
Air.
[25]		LBN
[26]		LBN
Eng.
[27]		ROU
Air.
[28]		ROU
TV
Air.
[29]
"1+1"2023——13——rowspan="2"
"6:45"2024——17——
"One Track Mind"202620—rowspan="2"4317Eclesia
"Welcome to Eclesia"—15——
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
"*" denotes that the chart did not exist at that time.

Notes

  1. ^ Sometimes credited as Victoria Naicka Richard.[30]

References

  1. ^ "Song Details – Don't Lie – By Naïka". Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved 2026-01-16.
  2. ^ "Naïka : qui est la chanteuse qui entrelace ses origines pour porter au monde son talent ?" (in French). The Melting Pop. 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  3. ^ "We've created so many boundaries, I want to tear these walls down.". MYP Magazine. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  4. ^ "John Lennon Scholarship Winners Announced". BMI.com. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  5. ^ Lodi, Hafsa (2026-01-12). "Naïka Embraces her Layered Identity and Looks to New Horizons" (in en-AE). Vogue Arabia. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  6. ^ "Meet Naïka". SDVoyager. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
  7. ^ Jean-Marie, Ruth (2025-11-23). "Beyond the layers with French-Haitian singer-songwriter Naïka". Haitian Times. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
  8. ^ "About Naïka". naikaofficial.com. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  9. ^ "Meet Naïka". Voyage LA. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  10. ^ "Naïka". Reggies. 2022. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  11. ^ "Women Who Travel Podcast: Singer Naïka on Life As a Third Culture Kid". Condé Nast Traveler. 2025-03-14. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
  12. ^ Randolph, Choya (December 23, 2019). "Naïka Creates Her Own Brand of 'World Pop'". Musicrunner. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  13. ^ "Naïka". Position Music. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  14. ^ "Naïka | Biografie" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  15. ^ "A&R Factory Present: Naïka". A&R Factory. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  16. ^ "Naïka". Montreux Jazz Festival. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  17. ^ "Naika — Singer/Songwriter". Fewords Collective. 2024-06-22. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  18. ^ Tindel, Arielle (2021-03-18). "Featured find: Naïka has the 'sauce' and the recipe to an emerging genre". We Are: The Guard. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  19. ^ Andrews, Lucas (2021-03-22). "Naika unleashes 'Sauce', premiered in Apple's iPhone campaign during The Grammy's | New Music". Music Crowns. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  20. ^ Sharawneh, Dana (2024-08-28). "A timeline of Saint Levant and Naika's relationship (IYKYK)". Cosmopolitan Middle East. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  21. ^ Laïreche, Rachid (2024-06-03). "Saint Levant, Libre rêveur" (in French). Libération. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  22. ^ Catabui, Quinn (2025-01-07). "A Complete Timeline Of Saint Levant & Naika's Relationship". Grazia Middle East. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  23. ^ "انفصال سانت ليفانت ونايكا.. رسائل الوداع مؤثرة" (in Arabic). al-ain.com. 2025-09-25. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  24. ^ Raut, Mamta (2025-09-26). "Power couple Saint Levant and Naïka call it quits but it’s all love and respect". Mashable Middle East. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
  25. ^ "Top Radio de la semaine (Week 21, 2026)" [Top Radio of the Week (Week 21, 2026)] (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. May 25, 2026. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  26. ^ "OLT20 – Combined Chart – Week of Sunday March 29th, 2026". The Official Lebanese Top 20. March 30, 2026. Retrieved March 30, 2026. – via Facebook
  27. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Lebanese English Chart: * "1+1": "OLT20 – English Chart – Week of Sunday June 30th, 2025". The Official Lebanese Top 20. June 30, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2026. * "6:45": "OLT20 – English Chart – Week of Sunday August 20th, 2025". The Official Lebanese Top 20. August 20, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  28. ^ "Top Radio Hits Romania Weekly Chart: May 28, 2026". TopHit. May 29, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  29. ^ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts" (Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.). Media Forest. March 23, 2026. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  30. ^ "Call Me Marilyn". Spotify. January 2017. Retrieved 2025-12-02.